UZOO MSL (Apr 05 - Aug 05)

This MBCGame Starleague took place from April 2005 through August 2005 entitled "UZOO MSL". UZOO.com being an e-sports website in Korea and the sponsor for this MSL. This MSL marks a return to the old format as it reverts back to double elimination and one game in the first round instead of Bo3 in YATGK MSL. Also, the Bo7 Grand Final is done away with, and we see a return to Bo5 Finals. Also, the top 8 players will get seeds for the next MSL.

The MapsThis season marks the first of a "map share policy" between MBC and OGN. OSL will use one MSL map and MSL will use one OSL map, as well as the 3 maps chosen for their own league.

Raid-Assault 2

Raid-Assault returns from YATGK MSL with some minor modifications;- High ground at 12 and 6 enlarged- Small modifications to the center- Layout of natural minerals/gas changed

Luna The Final

Luna returns from YATGK MSL with some minor modifications;- Minerals at main increased from 8 to 9- Minerals at nat add a mineral patch with 500 minerals- Mineral/gas layout changed in main- Bridges widened into "double bridges"Note: This is the map OGN would borrow from MBC for EVER 2005 OSL

Rush Hour_UZOO

Rush Hour is a new three player map which bares some resemblance to the failed Alchemist from IOPS OSL. It has an interesting design as it is circular. Play on this map is expected to be focused on the arc between the two bases for the early game, and move onto the center for late game.

Neo Requiem

Neo Requiem is the other new map this MSL. It is the map on loan from OGN and has been modified from Requiem 1.4 in IOPS OSL;- Mineral Cross drastically decreased in size- Shale on high ground increased in size (unbuildable terrain)- Naturals modified so zerg can fast expand more easily- Minerals at mineral only expo behind nat increased to 7 from 6- Minerals at gas expo behind nat decreased to 6 from 7

The Players

GoRush - Park Tae Min - Zerg - SKTelecom T1.GoRush enters UZOO MSL reigning MSL champion after defeating Nada 4-2 in YATGK MSL. Known as "Management Zerg" or "The Wizard of Operations" , Gorush is one of the strongest players of today with a winning rate of an incredible 69.6%. Gorush is a force to be reckoned with. Recently, GoRush left Sumo G.O. for SKT1. GoRush is 1st seed for UZOO MSL.

NaDa - Lee Yoon Yeol - Terran - Pantech and Curitel CurriorsNaDa enters UZOO MSL as runner up to YATGK MSL. Despite his second placing in YAGTK, NaDa must be the most feared gamer of today. Known as "Genius Terran", Two times OSL champion, and fresh off his win in IOPS OSL, he looks set to win it all this season. However, he must do what no gamer has done before; beat the OSL curse and not slump away to nothing. NaDa enters UZOO MSL as 2nd seed.

Xellos[yg] - Seo Ji Hoon - Terran - Suma G.O.Xellos enters UZOO MSL as third place in YATGK MSL. Xellos, otherwise known as "The Perfect Terran" has the most feared TvT on the planet. While lacking major accomplishments of late, he is still a very potent threat to anyone and is an OSL champion after a heart-breaking 3-2 victory over Yellow in Olympus OSL. Xellos enters UZOO MSL as 3rd seed.

ChoJJa - Jo Yong Ho - Zerg - KTF MagicNsChojja enters UZOO MSL as fourth place in YATGK MSL. Chojja, otherwise known as "Gnome Zerg" or "Child" due to his height or "Cowboy Zerg'" due to his love of ultralisks, hasn't won anything, ever. He has continually ended up 2nd, 3rd, 4th... but never first. However, with his 4th placing in YATGK he is in a good position to make a move on 1st this MSL. A nice interview from FiFo translated by FireBlast from half way through UZOO MSL can be found here. Don't worry, theres no spoilers . Known for his strong ZvP and "Cowboy Zerg" style he will be one to watch this MSL. ChoJJa enters UZOO MSL as 4th seed.

Reach - Park Jung Seok - Protoss - KTF MagicNsReach enters UZOO MSL from MBCGame Survior, having not participated in YATGK MSL. The Hero of Protoss (aka Reach), hasn't done anything of late besides a 3rd placing in EVER 2004 OSL but is a sure fan favourite. Reach has always been popular for his masterful PvT and solid PvZ and his OSL win in SKY 2 OSL over Boxer and his devastating loss to JulyZerg in Gilette OSL. Reach is a part of the "3 Protoss Kings", the other two being Kingdom and Nal_rA who are considered the top three protoss.

ZeuS - Jun Tae Kyu - Protoss - KORZeus enters UZOO MSL from MBCGame Survivor, having not participated in YATGK MSL. Zeus has dramatically fizzled out from his peak form, which was when he placed 2nd in NHN OSL to Nal_rA. However, Zeus fans everywhere hope for his revival and is still a feared Protoss user. Zeus is well known for his pre- and post-game ceremonies. Zeus's slump has lasted quite awhile and effectively removed him from team ace (being replayed by Cloud and CaSy) and this MSL marks his return to the pro-circuit. A fan of open-center maps like Luna, and a fan of Kim Tae-hee (Korean actress) Zeus is ready to fight the critics and return to his old self.

July[z-zone], JulyZerg - Park Sung Jun - Zerg - Pirates of Space (P.O.S)July enters UZOO MSL from MBCGame survivor. In YATGK MSL July lost to GoRush in the group stages and was sent to the loser bracket where he went on to beat Nal_rA 2-1 and Midas 2-0 but was stopped by the Monster Terran iloveoov in the Loser Bracket Round of 4-1 losing 0-2. When you imagine Zerg, you either imagine Yellow or JulyZerg. July has left his mark permanently on the world of BW, beating Reach in Gillette OSL claiming the heads of many greats along the way. July is returning to form after his OSL slump. July is known as "The God of War" or more light heartedly as "Fat Zerg" or the "Fat Overlord". JulyZerg also qualified for EVER 2005 OSL. This kind of talent is a valued addition to UZOO MSL.

Kingdom - Park Yong Wook - Protoss - SK Telecom T1Kingdom enters UZOO MSL from MBCGame survivor. In YATGK MSL Kingdom won his group stage match against Rage 2-1 but lost to NaDa 1-2 in the winner bracket, beat JJu 2-0 and lost to ChoJJa 0-2 in the loser bracket. A veteran Protoss player, and a member of the "3 Protoss Kings", Kingdom has earned the nickname "Devil Protoss" for his almost sadistically aggressive style of play and amazing spellcasting, as well as his devilish probe control, notably his Devil Probe vs elKy in Olympus Starleague and being the anti to "Hero Protoss" (Reach) and ironically was born in the same town as Reach (Pusan). Kingdom's favourite units are the Probe and the Dragoon; and its not hard to see why. In his games against Rage in YATGK MSL he produced this amazing micro with dragoons. Kingdom is a favourite going into UZOO MSL and will be good to watch.

JJu - Byun Eun Jong - Zerg - Samgsung KHANJJu enters UZOO MSL from MBCGame survivor. JJu lost to NaDa in the group stages on YATGK MSL placing him in the loser bracket where he went on to beat rage 2-1 and lose to kingdom 0-2. JJu is known as "Silver Bell" in Korea, as Eun = silver and Jong = bell. Otherwise he is known as "Straight Zerg", but at the same time has a reputation as the most unpredictable zerg in progaming. In IOPS OSL, JJu 4 pool'd his way to a loss vs SaferZerg on Alchemist ending up going 1-2 overall. JJu has a strong ZvP and once claimed "ZvP is easy" openly in an interview. JJu is like a Sunday Surprise; you never know what you're going to get. Thus JJu could be an excellent addition to UZOO MSL, or a dud.

ForU - Lee Jae Hoon - Protoss - Suma G.O.ForU enters UZOO MSL from MBCGame Survivor, having not participated in YATGK MSL. ForU is known as "Father Bear". In G.O. headquarters ForU-Savior-Midas were collectively known as the Bear Family. This was untill Midas left for SKT1. ForU was Father bear, and the other two were Baby Bears. ForU is known for his incredible PvT; including the artful web-slingling pimpest play, and also known for his lack of results despite his skill. Untill now ForU has accomplished relatively little aside from being apart of the "Handsome G.O. 11" which won Proleague and Teamleague awhile ago and being the only protoss player with a winning record vs JulyZerg despite PvZ being his worst matchup. However, this MSL ForU hopes to show the world his full potential and win. ForU is a welcome addition to UZOO MSL.

IPXZerg, savior[gm] - Ma Jae Yoon - Zerg - Suma G.O.Savior enters the MSL from MBCGame survivor, having not participated in YATGK MSL. Savior is a relatively fresh face on the progaming scene, only appearing briefly in SPRIS MSL. IPXZerg had the 6th highest winning ratio in 2004 with stats win:lose 20:12 or 62.5% winrate, mostly from games in survivor. "Baby Bear Ma Jae" or "Little Bear" is apart of the G.O. family of bears. Watch out MSL, this new comer is the embodiment of the next generation. We will be watching his games closely in UZOO MSL.

Mingu - Kim Min Ku - Zerg - KTF MagicNsMingu enters UZOO MSL from MBCGame survivor. In YATGK MSL Mingu dominated Goodfriend 2-0 placing himself in the winner bracket, but went on to lose to team mates TheMarine (1-2) and Chojja (0-2). Mingu hasn't had much impact on the proscene as of yet. He hangs around the 30 mark in KeSPA ratings. His impressive games against goodfriend showed some of Mingu's true potential. Mingu is a welcome addition to UZOO MSL.

iloveOOv - Choi Yun Sung - Terran - SK Telecom T1iloveOOv enters UZOO MSL from MBCGame survivor. iloveOOv had an impressive run last MSL going 2-1 vs ArtOfTerran, 0-2 vs XellOs, 2-0 vs ArtOfTerran, 2-0 vs Julyzerg but was finally stopped 1-2 by XellOs again. Monster Terran, Gorilla, Cheater Terran, call him what you will he is the most dominant force in progaming. Winner of Trigen MSL, HanaFOS CENGAME MSL, SPRIS MSL and EVER 2004 OSL he boasts an incredible winning ratio of 83:64 or 64.3% for the year 2004, playing the most televised games in 2004 and winning the most televised games as well. Known for his obscene macro skills, which make him look like a hacker, he has been the most resistant to the OSL curse to date. Not only that, anyone who loses to iloveoov is placed under the "oov curse" and decends into a slump. What's more to say? iloveoov welcome to UZOO MSL.

Boxer - Lim Yo Hwan - Terran - SK Telecom T1Boxer enters the MSL from MBCGame survivor, having not participated in YATGK MSL. The Emperor, or He is the god of all things Starcraft- to such an extent that Boxer is synonymous with starcraft. Little needs to be said about this x2 OSL champ and winning of KPGA Tour. Known for his famous rivalry with Hong Jin Ho and stunning strategies and micro, the addition of Boxer increases this already impressive lineup of star players in UZOO MSL.

YellOw - Hong Jin Ho - Zerg - KTF MagicNsYellOw enters UZOO MSL from MBCGame survivor, having not participated in YATGK MSL. YellOw is known as the "Storm Zerg" and is arguably the zerg pioneer. However, his preformance of late is lacking and is being called "Breeze Zerg" because of it. His bad mutalisk control has also lead to the term "Kongtalisk" being applied to his name. Despite his recent bad run Yellow is the ultimate runner up, with 3 2nd placings in MSL, and 2 2nd placings in OSL with only 1 1st place in KTEC KPGA Winner's Championship. His epic rivaly with Lim Yo Hwan is one the fans love, and the pair could be matched up in UZOO MSL. YellOw is here to regain form and win UZOO MSL.

TheMarine - Kim Jung Min - Terran - KTF MagicNsTheMarine enters UZOO MSL from MBCGame Survivor. TheMarine showed signs of brilliance during YATGK MSL before crashing midway through. TheMarine defeated chojja 2-1 in group stages, then Mingu 2-1 in the winner bracket before being stopped by Nada 0-2, and then lost to Chojja 0-2 in the loser bracket. TheMarine is a veteran of the proscene and is vastly under appreciated. Known as the "Noble Terran" or the "Aristocrat" he blasted onto the scene right at the birth of progaming and exposed the world to his style of timing rushes which won him much respect and many fans. The golden age of TheMarine is over, and he is now working towards rebuilding his old form in UZOO MSL.

The FormatFirstly the 4 seeds from You are the Golf King MSL are assigned to a group, 1st seed being in group A, 2nd seed in group C, 3rd seed in group D and 4th seed in group B. The groups are then randomly generated so that there are 4 players in each group. The group drawing was done on 14/07/05. Link to drawing is here